Golf instruction device



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 B. F'. YOUNG NWA GOLF INSTRUCTION DEVICE mm r o n w m mA MNPO Aug. 5, 1952 Filed Nov. 9, 1948 3mm fif/YJAM/N E Xou/va.

yam-Mi Aug. 5, 1952 B. F. YOUNG GOLF INSTRUCTION DEVICE 2 SHEETSSHEE'I 2Filed NOV. 9, 1948 gnaw/wind? Bibi/AMI f2 YOU/V6.

GOLF rnsrnoorron DEVICE Benjamin F. Young, PhiladelphiafPa. ApplicationNovember 9, 19"4s',-seria1uo. 59,686 3 Claims. (01. 273-35) The presentinvention relates to improvements in golf instruction devices and hasfor an object to provide an instrument of this kind for teaching thefundamentals of the game of golf.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedstructure which shows the beginner the properposition to take whenaddressing the ball. By the use of this device the proper practicaldegree or angle for each foot is ascertained and the correct distancebetween the feet and the distance from the ball is determined.

A further objectof the present invention is to provide an improveddevice of this character by the use of which the golfer is taught theproper positioning of the hands and shaft. of the club when addressingthe ball. It also teaches the correct back swing and follow-throughtechnique. r

A still further object of the present invention is to provide animproved structure which is adapted to be used indoors and outdoorsflaswet or damp ground will not damage or impair the usefulness of thedevice.

Still another object of the present. invention is. to. provide animproved device by the use of which wooden and. iron club shots can bepracticed for the purpose of improving the players game. a

The present invention aims; to' provide an improved device of. this kindwhich is simple to operate, economical to. manufacture. can be easilycarried by the golfer and canbe quickly; setup for use either indoors.or outdoors.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will behereinafter more fully described and more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawings, in which the same parts are denoted by the samereference numerals throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the. improved device constructed inaccordance with themesent invention;

'Figure 2 is a rear el'evati'onal' view of" the improved device;

Figure. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view show-- ing the spring inextended position;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure I;and

Figure 5 is a longitudinalsectional view on the line 5-5 of Fi'gure'B.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I'D indicates a. base. of.suitable material, such as waterprobfplywood or the like, preferablyone= half inch thick;twenty-fourinches wide and thirty-six incheslong,and can be painted green on its upper surface with a one-fourth inchborder painted white. The base l8 has a front edge H, a rear edge H, aright side edge l3 and a left side edge M.

A marker line It about one-eighth inch in Width is painted upon theuppersu'rface of the base Id at approximately nine inches from the leftside edge l4 and extends from the rear edge 12 to the front edge II atright angles to these edges. This line I5 constitutes the marker forlining up the golf ball for the wooden club shots. A hollow metal shafti6 is secured to the upper surface of the base!!! by a wood screw H".The shaft i6 extends from a point about one and one-half inches from therear" edge 12 of the base H3 upon the line I5 and terminatesapproximately two and one-fourth inches from thefront edge Hwhere it issecuredto the upper" surface of the-base by a U-shaped metal strap t8which has oppositely extending apertured feet T9 for receiving woodscrews 20' 'bywhich the strap is fastened to the base H);

A metal'tube 21 is telescopically and frictionally received by thehollow shaft "Sand a coil spring 22 has'about three inches of one endportion insertedinto the free end of the tube 2i and secured therein bywelding or the like. The coil spring is about fifteen inches in lengthso that about twelve inches extend outwardly beyond the end of the tube2I. When not in use the coil spring 22 is attached to a wire hook 23which is secured to the upper surface of the base I!) by a wood screw24. An angle line 25 for the left foot is painted upon the upper surfaceof the baseliiand begins at a point approximately one and three-fourthsinchesfrom the rear edge 12 of the base and three and one-half inches tothe left of the line I 5 and extends forwardly at an angle of the orderof nine degrees to the line [5. p i

A right angled member comprising arms 26 and 21' is secured to the upperfaceof the base 10 by wood screws 28. The arms 26 and flare aboutthreeinches. in length and one-half inch high,v The arm 21 is located aboutone and onehalf inches to the right of the line 25 and is substantiallyparallel thereto and the arm 26- of the right angled member is-disposedat approximately right angles to the line 25.

A gate 29 is pivotally mounted on the upper face of the base I0- by awood screw 30' located about one and three-fourths inches from the rearedge I 2 of the base l0 and five and-three fourths TENT; oFjF'ioE Yinches to the left of the line IS. The gate 29 can be made of.waterproof plywood and is preferably one-half inch high, five-eighthsinch wide and four inches long.

A half circle 3| having arrowheads 32 and 33 at its opposite ends ispainted on the upper surface of the base l and intersects the line Iwhich coincides with one of the radii of the half circle 3|. The halfcircle is struck on a radius of approximately eight inches and themedial point of the half circle is located about one-fourth inch fromthe front edge ll of the base ID.

A space 34 has a width of about one inch and a length of about twelveinches and is formed by 35 which are painted on the upper surface of thebase containing individual stride numbers .36.

ranging from zero to nine. Individual stride lines 31 extend from eachof the numbers 36 rearwardly at an angle of the order of twentysevendegrees to the line l5 and a borderline 38 extends from the space 34 tothe right of line number nine rearwardly at an angle of the order oftwenty-seven degrees to the line l5. The zero individual stride line 31and the borderline 38 extend to the rear edge I2 of the base H1 and theintermediate lines 31 terminate at a heel stop line 39. The zero strideline 31 at its rear end is approximately six and one-half inches fromthe line I5 and is about nineteen and one-half inches in length. Theborderline 38 is approximately nineteen and one-half inches in lengthand its rear end is about eighteen inches from the line |5.' The'st'ridelines number one to nine, inclusive, are about 'sixteen and one-fourthinches in length. The borderline 38 is adapted to serve the samefunction as the lines 31.

The heel stop line' '39 is disposed at right angles to the line.f|5 andis eleven and one-fourth inches in length starting from the zero strideline and ending at the borderline 38. .A substantially T-shaped heelstop 40 of waterproof plywood or the like and having a height of aboutone-half inch is provided with anarcuate shaped forward wall 4 I..,Rearwardly of the heel stop line 39 the base- H1 has .a longitudinallyextending slot 42 which isparallel to the heel stop-line 39 and totherear edge l2 of the base In from which ittis spaced about two andone-fourth inches. Theslot 42 begins at a point approximately seven andone-half inches from theline i5 and is about twelve inches-in lengthextending at about right angles to the line IS. A threaded bolt 43 hasaflat washer-like head 44 which engages theunder surface of the base I0adjacent the-slot 42. The shank portion of the bolt 43 extends upwardlyfrom the head 44 through the slot 42 and a suitable opening in the heelstop 40 to receive a wing nut 45 by which the heel stop 40 is secured inany selected position within the confines of the slot 42.

Lines 46 ranging from zero to seven begin at the heel stop line 39 atthe points-where the lines 31, numbered zerofto seven join the .heelstop line and extendrearwardly for adist-ance of about-two inches "atan; angle of the order of twenty-one degrees to the line l5. These lines46 are intersected by the slot 42. An arrow 41 is painted on theu'pp'rsurface of the base IO and begins at a pointabout one and one-halfinches from the righthand side edge [3 and about fourteen inches fromthe rear edge H of the base and extends to the left for a distance ofabout thirty-threeinches. The arrow is disposed at right angles to theline I5 and intersects the lines I5 and 25 at the points 48 and 49,respectively.

Short lines 50 ranging from zero to seven are painted on the uppersurface of the base In and intersect the arrow 41, the point ofintersection of the zero short line being twelve and one-eighth inchesfrom the line l5 and the lines being spaced one and one-eighth inches oncenter. The short lines 50 are each two inches in length and extend oneand one half inche'sf forwardly of'the arrow 41 and-one-half inch'rearwardly of the arrow. The lines 50 are disposed at an angle of theorder 1 of twenty-one degrees to the line l5.

Iron club shot ball lines 5| ranging from zero to seven are painted onthe upper surface of the base H) in the center portion thereof and beginabout one and three-fourth inches forwardly of the arrow 41 and extendforwardly approximately seven and three-fourth inches to terminate inthe front edge of the base. Each of the lines 5| is one-eighth inch wideand the zero line is spaced about three and three-sixteenth inches fromthe line l5. The lines 5| are spaced one and oneeighth inches on centerand are disposed parallel to the linfixlfi. 7 Q I A handle 52 is securedto the rear edge of the base I0 substantially midway of the side edgesl3 and M to give balance and convenience in carrying the device.

In the use of the devicein connection with shots to be made with woodenclubs the device is placed upon the tee and the gate 29 isswung on itspivot 30 to the left towards the lefthand edge |4.. The golfer placeshis left foot on the line 25 and places his right foot on the zero line31. In order forthegolfer to obtain his stride, hemoves theright foot tothe right until the leftarm pit isxperpendicular'to the line l5. If, forexample, this movement of the right foot brings it to number six line 31then the heel stop 40 is slid to .number six of the lines 31. The wingnut 45 'is'then screwed home to hold the heel stop on the number sixline.

The heel of the left foot engages .the arm 25 of the right-angledmember. and the heelof the right footsis received by the arcuate shapedwall 4|of' the heelstop 40. .By this arrangement the feet aremaintainedin proper position without danger of inadvertently moving them. Theweight of the golfers body is thus evenly balanced o'n each foot.'. :Thegolfer now holds the driverin front of him with the head of the driveron the ground in aligmnent with the line IS. The hands should bekeptslightly to the right of the line IS, the arms,'the club'and the legsforming atripod. This is correct stance foraddressing the ball. The coilspring'22 is released from the hook 23 and the tube 2| is movedoutwardly of the hollow shaft I6 so that the end of the spring isdisposed at the center of the head of the club. This will indicatetheproper point at which to tee up the ball. A tee is then placed in theground at the end of the spring. When the device is being used indoors apaper tee may be employed.

When addressing the ball the golfer should keep his eyes on the ball;hold his head down and keep his shoulders still. The club should beswung back and up until the hands are shoulder high. To hit the ball thegolfer should bend his left knee towards the line I5. I This will putthe weight of his body on the right foot and the left arm should beparallel to the arrow 41. As the golfer swings down toward the'ball, hepivots on the right foot and after hitting the ball he should followthrough the left-hand side of the half circle 3| by swinging the club upand over his left shoulder.

In the use of the iron clubs, the gate 29 is swung to the right insidethe right-angled member and against the arm 26 thereof. The golfer thenplaces his left foot on the line with the back of his heel against thegate. If in the determination of the proper stance in the use of thewooden clubs number six of the lines 31 was used, the golfer shouldsubtract three from six so that he should use the number three line forhis iron shots. The heel stop is now slid to the number three of thelines 48 where it is secured by the wing nut 45. It will be noted thatthe toe of the golfer should be placed on the number three line of theshort lines 50 so that the number three lines of the lines it and 50indicate the proper angle for the right foot. In the determination ofwhich line of the lines and to use in making iron shots, it is onlynecessary for the golfer to subtract three from the number obtained inthe selection of the proper line 3? for the right foot in connectionwith making wood shots. If line number three of the lines 46 and 50 isused for the angle of the right foot, this line number three of the ironclub shot line 5| should be used in placing the ball in the properposition for the iron shots. making iron shots, the tube 2| should betelescoped within the hollow shaft I6 and the spring 22 should besecured to the hook 23. While the head of the club is still on theground, place the ball on the ground in line with the number three ofthe lines 5i and in line with the center of the head of the club. Inorder to hit the ball, the golfer should bend the left knee toward thenumber three of the lines 5i and the left arm should be parallel to thearrow 47. After hitting the ball the golfer should follow through thelefthand side of the half circle 3| by swinging the club up and over hisleft shoulder. On the back swing in the use of both the wooden clubs andthe iron clubs, the golfer should follow the righthand half of the halfcircle 3|.

In the use of the device by beginners in making wooden club shots, thebeginner places both feet together. He then places his left foot abouttwo inches from his right foot using the line 25 and moves his rightfoot to obtain his stride as described above.

In the use of the iron clubs, the beginner places both feet together onthe line of the ball, addresses the ball and steps back to obtaindistance. He then places his right foot about four inches from his leftfoot using the angle and moves his left foot over to obtain his strideusing the distance as described above.

It is obvious that various changes and modiflcation may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

When

What I claim is:

1. A golf instruction device comprising a base having a ball mark linethereon, a left foot angle indicating line disposed on the base to theleft of and at an angle to said ball mark line, and a plurality ofindividual stride indicating lines disposed on the base to the right ofand at an angle to said ball mark line, said base having a half circlemark thereon and bisected by the ball mark line for indicating to thegolfer the proper path for his club head to follow, a right angle memberbeing mounted on said base and being provided with a pair of arms one ofwhich is substantially at right angles to the left foot angle indicatingline and extending to both sides of said left foot angle indicatingline, a gate pivotally mounted on said base and adapted to be swung intoand. out of engagement with the arm of the right angle member which isdisposed at a right angle to the left foot angle indicating line, thearm of said member which is disposed at a right angle to the left footindicating line being adapted to be engaged by the heel of the left footof the golfer when said gate is out of engagement with said arm and thegate being adapted to be engaged by the heel of the left foot of thegolfer when the gate is in engagement with said arm, two groups of linesthe individual lines of which are adapted to be selectively used inpositioning the right foot for iron shots the selection being dependentupon the reading obtained from the right foot stride indicating lines,and a plurality of iron club shot lines adapted to be selectively usedin connection with the two groups of lines for positioning the ball foriron club shots.

2. A golf instruction device as claimed in claim 1 characterized by thefact that an arrow is disposed on the base at substantially right anglesto the ball mark line for indicating the proper position of the left armof the golfer.

3. A golf instruction device as claimed in claim 2 characterized by thefact that said two groups of lines are disposed at an angle of the orderof twenty-one degrees to the ball mark line, that the lines of one ofsaid groups of lines are intersected by a slot and that the heel stop iscarried by the base for sliding movement in the slot.

BENJAMIN F. YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,208,995 Lyon Dec. 19, 19161,383,876 Sullivan July 5, 1921 1,484,390 Gibbs et a1 Feb. 19, 19242,180,170 Richards Nov. 14, 1939 2,189,613 Paulsen Feb. 6, 19402,457,351 Crowley Dec. 28, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date16,930 Great Britain 191

